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THE 



NEW IDEA 



Of 



ASTRONOMY 



And the 



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i r [\W> 



By 



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IF^O^- ID. "WOOD-^-ELL K■C^^T1 , . 
Of Massachusetts. 



1 




SAN FRANCISCO : 
PUBLISHED BY BAGGETT, SCOFIELD .& COMPANY, NO. 603 WASHINGTON STREET. 

1878. 





This little work is affectionately Dedicated 

By the Author 

To his Friend 

MRS. WM..T. SAXON, 

Late of Newark, New Jersey. 




Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1878, by D. 
Woodwell HrxT, in the office of the Librarian or Congress, at 
Washing-ton, D. C. 



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NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY 

AND 

THE LIGHT OF THE EYE. 



The bigot will not allow or admit 
that there can be any great error in the 
common, accepted views of Astronomy 
of the solar system as received from 
the ancients. 

Astronomy that we call half-civilized. 
I will only refer to a few of the many 
philosophers on Astronomy to show 
the confidence they had in the obser- 
vations of the ancients. But Galileo 
had a great mind, with great zeal to 
think. To contemplate the cause to 
the effect he arrived at some new ideas 
of the material world and its motion. 
For his courage he was persecuted and 



2 NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY 

charged with heresy, and put into pris- 
on because he said the world is round 
and rolls around. Since the days of 
Galileo, Newton, the two Herschels, 
and many other men of noble mind. 
But there are thousands that cannot 
think or conceive an idea only from 
others. 

The old school of Astronomy and 
Theology have kept hand in hand, 
holding conventions to keep light out 
of the way if it did not come in the line 
of their peculiar ideas. 

About the whole world of mankind 
doubt the truth of the statement that 
the Sun is a body of material fire, in 
the form of a globe, about 885,000 
miles diameter. The Astronomers 
teach us that the nearest planet to the 
so-called Sun is Mercury, and is dis- 
tant from the so-called Sun 37,000,000 
miles. 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EYE. 3 

Venus is distant 68,000,000 miles. 
Earth is distant 95,000,000 miles. 
Mars is distant 142,000,000 miles. 
Vesta is distant 215,000,000 miles* 
Juno is distant 230,000,000 miles. 
Ceres is distant 260,000,000 miles. 
Pallas is distant 299,000,000 miles. 
Jupiter is distant 485,000,000 miles. 
Saturn is distant 885,000,000 miles. 
Uranus is distant 1,800,000,000 miles. 
From the above tables of calcula- 
tions, by the most eminent Astrono- 
mers, it would be plain to the common 
mind that reflects on those great bodies, 
that there could not be a man of sound 
mind so blind to the light of wisdom 
as to think that the all-wise Creator of 
the universe would form the Earth only 
8,000 miles diameter, and the so-called 
Sun about 885,000 miles diameter, be- 
ing 390,000 times larger than the 



4 NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY 

Earth, and set" the Earth distant from 
the so-called Sun 95,000,000 miles. 

It is said the so-called Sun is a ma- 
terial body, and it sends its heat, mo- 
tion, and light out from itself through 
all space, in every direction from its 
central point to the circumference of 
the solar system. 

If this be true, there must be a per- 
fect uniform flow of heat, motion and 
light gone forth to all parts of the solar 
system, giving all space and all plan- 
ets in space, heat, motion and light, 
equal in all places in proportion to the 
direct ray upon the surface of the earth 
or planets, and all material bodies in 

space. 

It must be plain to the mind of the 

intelligent man that reflects on the con- 
struction of the solar system, as taught 
by the old schools at this day, that 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EYE. 5 

there is as great an error now, in the 
theory of the solar system, as there 
was in the time of Galileo, and many 
of the old philosophers and astrono- 
mers, when man thought the earth 
was a plane, and the Sun, so-called, re- 
volved over and under the earth, as it 
now appears to many of mankind on 
this earth. 

The old theory was as consistent as 
the present incongruous system of as- 
tronomy, that is taught by professors 
of the schools to-day. The reader 
that contemplates the planets or stars, 
and their spheres, and the great velocity 
of the solar system, and that there is 
a vacant space around the central 
point of the solar system about 74,- 
000,000 miles diameter, in which no 
planet has been found. The nearest 
planet is Mercury, 37,000,000 miles 



6 NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY 

distant from the so-called Sun in the 
central point. 

It is said by learned men of science 
that the Sun is about 885,000 miles 
diameter, not any too large to do ser- 
vice in the spacious arena of the 74,- 
000,000 miles diameter being the sup- 
posed space around the so-called Sun. 
There is not a planet or other materi- 
al body for the Suns heat, motion and 
light to rest on. The Sun is suppos- 
ed, by the best authority, to be send- 
ing its heat, motion and light into 
every part of the solar system, with 
that uniformity that governs all the 
material bodies, giving a uniform heat, 
motion and light to all parts of the 
solar system, in proportion to their 
angel to the face of the earth. 

It is plain to the mind of many men 
that if there was a Sun as described, 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EYE. J 

only 885,000 miles diameter, it would 
be a mere pigmy to give heat, motion 
and light to a solar system of the di- 
ameter of 74,000,000 miles around the 
central point of the solar system. 

But when man becomes acquainted 
with the solar system of the universe, 
all will be delighted with the sublime 
grandeur of its structure and magnifi- 
cence. 



The New Idea of Astronomy. 



Elements and science of Astrono- 
my that should be taught by philoso- 
phers of the day, the earth's connec- 
tion with the solar system, and the 
cause of their action in their proper 
order, as seen in the eye and intellect 
of man, by the aid of natural or arti- 
ficial light. 

To understand the above, we should 
first seek to know the law that governs 
all the natural, and also to know what 
the natural is. 

The natural cannot govern itself. 

Heat cannot govern itself. 

Motion cannot govern itself. 

Light cannot govern itself. 

Rain cannot govern itself. 

To obtain a knowledge of the above, 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EYE. 9 

we should examine the natural, and 
learn of the law of influx and force, 
how it flows into the body and mind 
of man, to help man to understand 
the external and internal, the material 
and immortal. If a man is only nat- 
ural, he is like the natural animal, and 
is not responsible to a higher law, but 
it is not so with all. Man has a mind, 
or soul ; he wishes to know why and 
what he is ; he is a mysterious animal, 
and as he begins to expand, the inqui- 
ry should be to learn of self and the 
surroundings ; he should say in himself, 

how do I 

Hear, See, Taste, Smell and Feel ? 
It is thought by a great part of man 
that they understand the five senses by 
which we hear, see, taste, smell and 
feel ; but there are but few that do un- 
derstand those organs of the body, 



IO NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY 

truly. Most men think that they hear, 
see, taste, smell and feel at a distance, 
but the animal man cannot hear at a 
distance. He cannot see at a distance. 
He cannot taste at a distance. He 
cannot smell at a distance. He can- 
not feel at a distance. 

It is an apparent truth that we per- 
ceive things at a distance, but it is not 
so. It is in those organs of the body 
(the five senses) that we perceive or 
understand any of the natural or ma- 
terial bodies of the solar system, and 
their influence on the mind or soul of 
man that are on the earth. 

The material bodies that revolve 
around in the solar system, that are of 
sufficient density to be reflected into 
the eye by the aid of solar or artificial 
light, and through the lens of the eye 
into the mind of man. Thus the im- 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EVE. I I 

age of ourselves is reflected into a 
mirror, and from the mirror in through 
the lens of the eye into life, in the body 
of man. 

An object that is capable of being 
reflected is seen in the eye of the ma- 
terial body, and in no other way can it 
be seen. Thus we may perceive and 
understand that all we see is from the 
material bodies that surround us — is re- 
flected into the eye of the material 
body. We cannot hear, see, taste, 
smell or feel outside of those organs 
of the material body. But by the aid 
of artificial means we can concentrate 
a greater number of rays of light into 
the eye, and thus, by the greater num- 
ber of rays of light, we perceive the 
lines of an object, clearer and more 
defined in the eye, as it is with a spy- 
glass or telescope. The solar light of 



12 NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY 

day passes into the instrument at the 
large orifice, and is conducted through 
the dark chamber in the instrument, 
and throuh the various lens, converging 
the rays of light into the small eye- 
glass, and through that into the eye, 
and through the lens of the eye into 
the intellect or mind of man into life. 
Thus the eye receives an image of the 
object on the lens of the eye, and re- 
flects it into life in the body of man. 

The sight of the eye has the ap- 
pearance of a truth, but its only an 
apparent truth that we see as it ap- 
pears outside of the eye, or hear out- 
side of the ear, or smell outside of the 
nose, or taste outside of the tongue, or 
feel outside of the body, but it is in 
those organs that we perceive and un- 
derstand ourselves and the surround- 
ings. The captain of a ship takes his 



AND THE SIGHT OF THE EYE. I 3 

sextant in his right hand and holds it 
firm, he puts his eye to the small tel- 
escope that receives the image of the 
object that is reflected from the index- 
glass on to the horizon, and from the 
horizon-glass into the eye. 

The Sun, so-called, or solar light, 
has the appearance of a truth, but it 
is only an apparent truth. The earth 
has the appearance of being a plane, 
but it is not a plane ; it is a globe, and 
its great proportions are such that we 
do not perceive that the seas and lakes 
of water all have a convex form of 
eight inches to the mile. 

The center of the solar system, so- 
called the Sun, is not so. It is not a 
material body 885,000 miles diameter, 
and the nearest planet is Mercury, dis- 
tant from the central point 37,000,000 
miles, forming a globe at the central of 



14 NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY. 

the solar system, 74,000,000 miles di- 
ameter. It is plain to the minds of 
man, that to send heat, motion and 
light from the center to the circumfer- 
ence of the solar system in open rays, 
and in every direction from the center, 
would be a great waste of material 
heat, motion and light. 

Now, if we will consider the sphere 
of the solar system, its diameter being 
690,000,000 miles, and the adhesive 
electrical straight lines in all this vast 
space there is not any heat, motion or 
light emitted from the adhesive electri- 
cal straight lines, only where there is 
a material body having an atmosphere. 
The electrical spark cannot ignite 
anything any more than a man can 
make himself from nothing. 

The adhesive accumulation of elec- 
trical pulse is by action on the adhe- 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EYE. 1 5 

sive lines from the central toward the 
circumference of the solar system. 
The latent power of all material bodies 
is in proportion to the combustible 
qualities of the material. 

If the Sun, so-called, was at the cen- 
ter of the solar system a material body, 
it could not continue if it was the 
source of heat, motion, and light, for 
they are the result of combustion, and 
combustion cannot continue if it has 
no supply from material outside of it- 
self, because solar heat is material. 
By and in the adhesive electrical 
straight lines flows from the circumfer- 
ence a supply, and the electrical pulse 
flows from the central toward the cir- 
cumference. 

Thus the supply and demand is con- 
tinual ; one cannot act without the 
other ; it always acts in proportion to 



1 6 NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY 

the qualities of the surrounding atmos- 
phere. The atmosphere is about the 
same density on the surface of the 
earth, and its density decreases as it 
ascends from the earth. But it is not 
known whether the decrease is uniform 
from the earth to the outside of the at- 
mosphere. 

The spherical sphere of the solar 
system is as a globe, a vast sphere, 
with the adhesive lines flowing from 
the circumference to the central. The 
electrical pulse flows from the central 
toward the circumference, on the ad- 
hesive lines forming the sphere of this 
vast machinery and power revolving 
all the bodies that are in the folds of 
the solar system. 

Each one of the planets being differ- 
ent in size and different in density from 
every other body, no two planets or 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EYE, I? 

material bodies are alike. Hence, they 
all find their orbit. 

All material bodies are governed by 
the same great law of force. Thus it 
is plain that the planets or bodies will 
continue in their orbit, and cannot vary 
from their path only by the great law 
of force. We know more about this 
earth that we live on than we do of all 
the other planets that we have around 
in the solar system. They are held in 
space by the adhesive lines, and are 
acted on by the electrical pulse enter- 
ing the atmosphere as it comes in con- 
tact with the adhesive electrical lines, 
and are broken by the earths atmos- 
phere, and the electrical spark ignites 
the atmosphere into a twilight, and it 
continues to increase in light until noon- 
day, then it decreases until the evening 
twilight Thus it is continually be- 



1 8 NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY 

coming sunrise on one part of the 
earth, and sunset on the other side of 
the earth. The electrical spark is al- 
ways igniting the atmosphere on the 
side of the earth that is toward the 
central point of the solar system. Thus 
we have heat, motion, and light on this 
earth. 

The atmosphere of the Earth, at the 
extreme from the Earth, which is sup- 
posed to be from 50 to 80 miles in 
depth, and is so thin at the extreme 
point from the Earth that there is not 
sufficient combustion when it comes 
into the electrical pulse. It emits the 
smallest perceptive particle of light, 
but the light increases as it approach- 
es the Earth, according to the quality 
of the atmosphere. Thus it may be 
seen why one day has more heat, mo- 
tion, and light than other days, or why 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EYE. 1 9 

that, on the eastern slope of the con* 
tinent of America, the heat is thirty- 
three degrees lower by the thermome- 
ter than it is on the western slope, on 
an average, or why it varies on the 
eastern slope from 10 degrees below 
zero to no degrees above zero. No 
philosopher can show the cause of this 
by the theory of the old school. 

The atmosphere of the earth can- 
not be reflected into the eyes only 
when it is on fire. 

The material bodies that are re- 
flected into the eye by the solar elec- 
trical or an artificial light, are received 
into the eye as they are in their natu- 
ral condition, not luminous. But all 
luminous bodies are seen in the eye 
with great refraction, as it is with the 
flame of a gas-burner ; when seen at a 
distance of a quarter of a mile from the 



20 NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY. 

burner, it will be seen in the eye and 
in the intellect many hundred times 
larger than the flame is at the burner ; 
the gas would not burn without the aid 
of the surrounding atmosphere. 

Thus it is with all luminous bodies, 
such as comets, meteors, shooting or 
blazing or falling stars. 

The comets come and go, and w r e do 
not know much of them but to see them. 
History informs us of comets so bright 
as to be visible at noonday. Many of 
them are of celebrity, reflecting a pale, 
sickly, disagreeable light, much more 
disagreeable and disastrous than the 
pale, sickly moonlight or starlight of 
the night. A comet was seen at Rome, 
at noonday, shortly before the assassi- 
nation of Julius Caesar. Halley's com- 
et, in 1305, is described as a terrific 
comet, being of such magnitude that 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EVE. 2 1 

the tail was so long as to reach around 
the world 5,000 times. The comet of 
1680 covered an area of 9700, and its 
length was 45,000,000 miles, and many 
others much larger. 

Those philosophers had a very vivid, 
fertile mind. They say some of the 
smaller ones are only 25 miles diame- 
ter, and the nucleus cannot be seen by 
the largest telescopes, even when near- 
est the earth, and only as a small speck 
of fog. That man could not perceive 
that he had fog in his eye ; that if he 
would get it out of his eye he would 
understand that all the light he has is 
seen in his eye, and that the object 
seen in the eye is three thousand times 
smaller in the eye than it is in the un- 
derstanding of the man. 

If we look into the eye of a man we 
will see the imag-e of ourself in his eve, 



22 NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY 

about the size of a small kernel of 
grain. Thus we may perceive that all 
the adhesive, electrical lines are from 
the central, and that the electrical spark 
of light is less than one thousandth 
part of an inch in diameter, and it ig- 
nites the atmosphere on the side of the 
earth that is faced toward the center of 
the solar system. As the world rolls 
around, the adhesive lines are broken, 
and the electric spark ignites the at- 
mosphere into twilight, and it contin- 
ues to increase in light until noonday, 
then it decreases until evening twilight. 
Thus it is continually becoming morn- 
ing to one portion of the inhabitants of 
the earth, and evening to another por- 
tion at the same time. 

But we must understand that all we 
see is in the eye, and not outside of 
the eye. 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EVE. 23 

The eye has no power to go outside 
of the eye, but, by a wise construction 
of the great creation, man has power 
to see the image of objects on the 
earth that are reflected into the eye of 
man. 

The electrical power radiating from 
the central to the circumference on the 
adhesive lines in every direction, from 
the central to the circumference, form- 
ing a globe in which all bodies of the 
system revolve around the great cen- 
tral, and all being governed by the 
great law r of force and harmony. In 
the whole space outside of the atmos- 
phere of all the planets and bodies 
that are controlled by the influence of 
the adhesive and electrical lines, there 
is no emission of light from the adhe- 
sive electrical lines in all the vast, un- 
occupied space, and natural darkness is 



24 NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY 

continually there until a material body 
comes into the space with an atmos- 
phere about it. 

A telegraph line, thousands of miles 

in length, overland, in air and water, 

. will not emit or show a spark of light 

until the electrical fluid comes to a 

break in the line of the telegraph. 

When the Earth comes between the 
Moon and the central point of the ad- 
hesive lines, there will be an eclipse of 
the Moon or any other material body. 
When the Moon or any other material 
body comes between the Earth and in 
line with the central point of the solar 
system, then we say there is an eclipse 
of the Sun ; but it is not so ; it is the 
disturbing of as many of the adhesive 
electrical lines as is contained in the 
diameter of the Moon or any material 
body that is passing. The electrical 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EVE. 25 

fluid ceases to flow for the time, until 
that body has passed, and the adhesive 
lines become united, and the work goes 
on as before. I have noticed that 
whenever a meridian solar eclipse oc- 
curs the air begins to become colder, 
and the thermometer to go down thirty 
hundred in forty-five minutes, and after 
the body had passed, the mercury 
would go up in two hours. It is plain 
that if the Sun, so-called, is a material 
body at the center of the solar system, 
and is giving off heat, motion and light, 
and it flows in every direction, from the 
center to the most remote planet, and 
with evenness and uniformity that gov- 
erns all in order. It would be impos- 
sible that such a change could take 
place in so short a time. 

If the solar heat, motion, and light 
comes from the atmosphere of the Earth 



26 NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY 

and not any where else, it is in the 
adhesive lines that flows the material 
from the circumference toward the cen- 
tral, and it becomes electrical, and flows 
from the central toward the circumfer- 
ence. 

We should remember that the ad- 
hesive and electrical lines are not re- 
flective, but adhesive and electrical 
lines, and their force is felt by all the 
universe of this solar system. 

Planets receive all their heat, motion, 
and light from the adhesive and elec- 
trical lines. 

All planets communicate w T ith other 
planets through adhesive and electrical 
straight lines, and thus the whole solar 
system is part and parcel with the great 
Supreme Creator. 

It is plain to the intelligent mind of 
man that the great and vast network 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EYE. 2 J 

of the adhesive, electrical lines so wisely 
constructed of material and immaterial, 
and He has arranged them in such or- 
der, and balanced them so very nicely 
that not one of them will ever come 
, within eleven million miles of every 
other planet. He has given each and 
every planet an attractive and repelling 
power to keep them in motion, and all 
in harmony with the motion of the great 
matter of action. 

If the solar system is of such great 
proportions, and sends its material 
heat, motion, and light from its centre 
in every direction from the centre, 
what must be the waste of heat, mo- 
tion, and light in all the great, unoccu- 
pied space of the solar system. 

It is plain that not one five thou- 
sandth part of the space of the solar 
system is occupied by any material 



2 8 NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY 

bodies. Can it be that the pretender 
of philosophy can be honest in his 
teachings at this day ? Is he not led 
and influenced by the old school, and, 
in the same train of discipline, he draws 
all his ideas from the teaching of the 
times, w^hen it did not do to express 
an opinion that was not in accordance 
w r ith theology and the accepted science 
Astronomy of the day. 

I hope the reader will not think that 
I am too fast or too severe on the phil- 
osopher or the astronomer. I want 
truth and knowledge if it can be had. 
I must lay aside all that tends to pre- 
dispose or prejudge, and be willing to 
have the new thought. Try to under- 
stand the new T , and leave the old. 

The stars, since the commencement, 
have been a study with man. What 
has he learned that he can tell you ? 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EVE. 29 

in truth, nothing ; no,, not a thing ; 
nothing but folly and stuff. The phil- 
osopher will tell you to go with him to 
the hall of science ; he will hand you one 
of the many of their big-leaved books ; 
he will show you that the fixed stars 
are all grouped in constellations, from 
the most remote antiquity, and many 
of them are mentioned in the most 
ancient writings, and many of them 
bear the same names that the ancients 
gave them. The names of the con- 
stellations are sometimes found on a 
supposed resemblance of the objects 
to which the name belongs ; such as 
Swan, Scorpion, Taurus, Hercules, 
Great Bear, Balance, Archer, Goat, 
Water Beaver, Fishes, Eagle, Dolphin, 
Little Bear, Dragon, Lyre, Whale and 
Crow. Also a host that might be 
added. 



30 NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY 

These representations were parts of 
the faculty of the Pagan myth or myth- 
ology. The earliest catalogue of the 
fixed stars was made by Hipparchus 
of the Alexandrian school a man much 
above his race of humanity controlled by 
one man. Other catalogues have ap- 
peared from the Herschells, and May- 
ers, and a host of other catalogues in 
parts were made, the four by Hippar- 
chus about 440 years before the Christ- 
ian era. 

Much of those old fables is retained 
in the school books of to-day, and the- 
philosopher acknowledges that he can 
not ascertain the actual distance of any 
of the fixed stars, but he is very positive 
that the nearest one is more than twen- 
ty billions of miles distant from this 
earth. What man can comprehend 
one billion of miles, if he has a good 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EYE. 3 1 

sound brain, but if a man can can span 
in his mind, and see with his eye, more 
than twenty billions of miles, I think 
his brain must be a little soft or weak. 

The philosophers of the last century 
have muddled things very much. 

They say the brightest fixed stars 
to the number of twenty are considered 
of the first magnitude. 

The next seventy-five brightest fix- 
ed stars are of the second magnitude. 

The next three hundred are of the 
third magnitude, and so on the number 
increases to sixteen magnitudes. 

Now the man thinks he sees the fix- 
ed stars twenty to thirty billion miles 
from him. Many have written much 
about the eye, the organ of vision. 

Sir David Brewster, in his treatise 
on optics, calls the eye, -"That master- 
piece of divine mechanism." He says, 



32 NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY. 

in praise of God, "It is a wonder work- 
ing artificer that constructed this organ, 
and we are sorry that our powers per- 
mit us to say so little and speak so 
feebly." The reason Sir David speaks 
so feebly is because he was looking 
through the wrong end of the glass, 
and not into the mind and soul of man. 
"The human eye," says Sir David, "is a 
spherical form, with a slight projection 
in front." He goes on with his remarks 
describing the eye. 

In considering vision as achieved 
by means of an image formed at the 
the bottom of the eye, he says we can 
never reflect without wonder upon the 
smallness yet the correctness of the 
picture, the subtlety of the touch, the 
fineness of the lines. A landscape of 
three square leagues is brought into a 
space of half an inch in diameter, yet 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EYE. 33 

the multitude of objects which it con- 
tains are all preserved, are all discrim* 
inated in their magnitudes. 

It is a wonder that the man of to* 
day, having knowledge of natural sci- 
ence, cannot see the grand man, man- 
ifest in the union of the eye, the ear, 
the mind being the connecting link of 
man to the grand man. 

If w r e saw outside of the eye, we 
would not see correctly. The sight of 
the eye, the ear, and the feeling must 
be connected with the mind, the un- 
derstanding, the soul They live to- 
gether, they act together, and, when 
the body dies, they go from the body 
together. A just judge presides in 
court over all complaints that come 
into his court. He hears in the ear 
all the evidence ; in the eye of the 
body the images of the plaintiff and 



34 NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY 

defendant are reflected into the mind, 
and he judges of the case as he has 
seen it in his mind and understanding* 

Thus, if the sight of the eye were 
permitted to go outside of the eye, it 
would soon become useless. 

The same with the Earth. If it 
should revolve in the same space in 
the solar system many days, the atmos- 
phere of the Earth would be spent. 
The Earth would be in darkness, and 
death would follow, because of the ab- 
sence of heat, motion and light. If, 
in the vast space that is unoccupied by 
material bodies that have atmospheres, 
there should be any w^ind or current of 
air outside of each and every planet of 
the solar system, it would cause a de- 
rangement of the order of all the plan- 
ets, and all would go into confusion. 
But this cannot be. The atmos- 



D THE LIGHT OF THE EYE. 35 

phere of every planet or material body 
is in density and depth according to 
its quality to sustain an atmosphere. 

The solar spots that appear on the 
disk of the so-called Sun are to be 
seen with the naked eye. But we are 
not so void of reason as to think that 
the sight of our eyes goes out ninety- 
five million miles,, or that the light 
comes from the planet all the way to 
us by open conveyance, into our eyes. 
No, it is not so ; it cannot be so ; it 
has no foundation in reason or com- 
mon sense. 

The officer of a ship at sea takes an 
observation of the Sun by the aid of 
a quadrant or sextant which he holds 
firm, with the telescope parallel with 
the Earth and his eye to the eye-glass, 
With his left hand he moves the index 
glass until the image of the Sun is car- 



36 NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY 

ried down to the water not more than 
three miles from the ship. By the aid 
of the instrument he gets the angle of 
the ray. 

The Alexandrian family were many. 
When Alexander came to power the 
empire of Egypt was rich. All he 
had to do was to rob and murder. He 
built that great city, and it continued 
to flourish. 

The Ptolemies collected a library, 
which, at the end, numbered 70,000 
volumes. It was the wonder of the 
world a long time. But the great city 
fell under the Saracen, Yok, A. D. 
640. Under the new rule the public 
library was doomed to be burned, to 
heat the public bathers. Those books 
no doubt contained the history of the 
Old World for 4,000 years. But that 
city became vile and depraved, their 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EVE. $J 

canals all became destroyed, and a 
flood of sand came down from the 
great desert of Africa, covering Lower 
Egypt about twenty feet with sand. 

Question No. i : If the Sun, so- 
called, is sending its heat out from 
itself to every part of the solar sys- 
tem, how can it be other than uniform 
in proportion to its angle to the earth ? 

Question No. 2 : If the Sun, so- 
called, is sending its motion out to ev- 
ery part of the solar system, how can 
there be other than a uniform motion 
in all parts of the system in proportion 
to its angle to the earth? 

Question No. 3 : Why is it dark in 
the night ? If the Sun, so-called, is 
sending its light from itself to every 
part of the solar system, how can it be 
darker than it is in the shade of a 
mountain ? 



Description of the City of Alex- 
andria. 

Alexander the Great built a cele- 
brated city in Lower Egypt. It was 
on the neck of land that separates 
Lake Mareotis from the Mediterra- 
nean sea, and not far from the Cono- 
pic mouth of the Nile, The great 
founder gave it the name Alexandria, 
A. M. 3578, and employed skillful en- 
gineers to assist in the plans and con- 
struction of the city. The site was 
selected by King Alexander the Great, 
The plot of the ground was twenty- 
seven miles in circumference. Its 
walls were high and strong, w T ith one 
hundred and forty-seven watchtowers, 
with every convenience for the accom- 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EYE. 39 

mo 'ation of the officers and subordi- 
nates. 

The walls and watchtowers were 
all constructed of brick and cement. 
The inside of the wall was ornamented 
with figures of every variety of ani- 
mal, life size, landscape scenes, battles, 
armies, and all the great events and 
scenes of novelty. After the work 
was finished, the whole was covered 
with a luster as of glass. 

The city was divided into wards, 
one to each w^atchtower. Each ward 
had two watchmen and their assistants, 
to keep the city in peace, and clean 
the streets. The tw r o watchmen w r ere 
ranked first captain and second cap- 
tain. The whole watch w r as divided 
into fifteen districts, ten wards in each. 
Each district had one judge, who heard 
all complaints. The fifteen judges 



40 NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY 

constituted a board, that held court as 
often as needed. This board held the 
power of power of life or death, but 
subject to the approval of the kings 
counciL If an officer of rank or a 
subordinate was found guilty of crime 
in office, he was punished with great 
severity, even with death or banish- 
ment 

The palace grounds occupied one- 
eighth of the city. They contained 
the royal residence, the museum, sep- 
ulchers,and many monuments of honor. 
The royal residence was superb, beau- 
tiful, inside and out It was built after 
copies of the Doric and Corinthian, 
being blended together in harmony, 
giving the whole a beautiful appear- 
ance. The whole was ornamented 
with gold and precious stones and 
much carved work. The grounds 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EYE. 4 1 

were ornamented with the choicest 
plants and flowers, the walks laid in 
marble of various colors, and every- 
thing rich, beautiful and pleasant, seen 
by the eye. Many beautiful, shady 
bowers, covered with foliage, and many 
birds making music. The museum 
building was an oval, one hundred and 
seventy-seven feet in width, three hun- 
dred and fifty-seven feet in length, and 
five stories high. The basement 
and first story were occupied as the 
arsenal. The second, third and fourth 
stories were occupied by the museum, 
each story sixteen feet high. Above 
the roof was a tower, near the front 
end, thirty-seven feet at the base, and 
at the top twenty-seven feet. The 
height from the base was fifty-seven 
feet, and one hundred and forty-seven 
feet from the ground to the highest 



42 NEW IDEA OE ASTRONOMY 

point. This edifice was of the Tus- 
can order, with cornice and the full 
order. The doors, windows and stair- 
ways were beautiful. The tower was 
beautiful inside and out, with every 
convenience for observation of the 
planets and stars, and all other bodies 
that can be reflected to the eye. 

The city and streets were arranged 
beautifully, and the center street was 
four hundred feet in width, w T ith sixty- 
seven streets each side of the center 
street, one hundred feet in width each. 
In the center, between these streets, 
was a small street, twenty-five feet in 
width, for ingress and egress and sew- 
ers' waste. It had two hundred and 
eighty-seven cross streets, seventy- 
seven feet in width, and four miles in 
length ; with sewers connecting with 
the lake on the south side, and empty- 
ing into the Mediterranean sea. 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EYE. 43 

The city had a circular park, nine 
hundred feet in diameter, with mean- 
dering- paths in all directions. Around 
the outside of the park was a fence of 
brass. It was always kept clean and 
bright. Outside was a walk, thirty- 
seven feet in width, laid with black 
marble. In the center of this walk 
was a line of almond trees, set seven- 
teen feet apart, with circular seats 
around each tree. The whole grounds 
were beautified "with flowers. In the 
center was a canopy, one hundred and 
twenty-seven feet in diameter, covered 
with green flowering vines, and ar- 
ranged with seats for the music. In 
the center were seven flag poles for 
displaying the flags and banners of the 
many conquered cities that had been 
added to the kingdom. 

The two sides of the center street 



NEW IDEA OE ASTRONOMY 44 

were built after the Corinthian order, 
five stories high. The buildings were 
not alike on any two streets, and of 
different orders. Many of the best 
were of white marble, all finished in- 
side very elaborately. Many of the 
buildings were of stone and mason 
work. Many of the palaces would 
cost more than a million dollars. The 
first story was for business purposes. 
All was very beautiful. The whole of 
the streets of the city were macadam- 
ized with flint stone and flint cement, 
all very smooth and beautiful. All the 
streets were set with shade trees of the 
choicest varieties, and vines, bushes 
and shrubbery of beauty and luxury. 

The school edifice was curiously 
constructed. It was at the base like a 
star with five points. The fifth point 
was due south. It was five stories 



NEW EDEA OF ASTRONOMY. 45 

high. The fifth point projected south 
sufficiently to form an angle of forty- 
five degrees with the base ; and per- 
pendicular on the north side one hun- 
dred and eighty-nine feet, forming a 
base at the top of the edifice forty- 
seven feet in diameter. The base of 
the observatory was thirty-seven feet 
in diameter, and at the top twenty- 
seven feet, with a hight of sixty- 
seven feet, and a pivoted turret on the 
top, projecting five feet all around, 
forming a cornice of the Grecian order. 
The interior of the edifice was finished 
after the full order of the Corinthian 
style. Every student had his separate 
apartment, and no two of them were 
allowed to remain together at night. 
There were only two classes — noble 
and ignoble, king and subordinate. 
The school was attended by only the 



46 NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY 

noble families and nobility. The igno- 
ble were never admitted into any 
school, but all the subordinate were 
compelled to practice some useful em- 
ployment or go into the army. In the 
school was taught the science of as- 
tronomy, for the purpose of obtaining 
a knowledge of astrology and divina- 
tion. On the outside of the school 
edifice were balconies at every story, 
eight feet in width, leading to the 
south angular wall. Through that 
wall were openings to pass from one 
side to the other to observe the line of 
the solar light from day to day, and to 
observe the Moon in her phases ; also 
the motion of the stars in conjunction 
in line with the Earth, and their effect 
on the various nervous or morbid con- 
ditions of animal life on the Earth. 
To promote science, the learned as- 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EYE. 47 
tronomer Hipparchus, of the Alexan- 
drian school, was permitted to build 
four hemispheres over the sepulchers, 
each of them being seven hundred feet 
in diameter ; two on the equator, one 
at the north, and one at the south, and 
three hundred and fifty-seven feet in 
the zenith, the inside resembling the 
color of the sky. The stars and plan- 
ets were arranged in perfect order, 
moving with regularity in their proper 
courses, showing all that could be seen 
in one hemisphere, being- reflected into 
the eye and intellect. The four hem- 
ispheres were arranged with transpa- 
rent coverings, making it pleasant to 
the eye. 

Thus the student was made familiar 
with the heavenly bodies, and by con- 
stant watching- and noting- the changes 
of the many stars of the constellations 
of the hemispheres. 



48 NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY. 

These four rooms were all connected 
by doors. In the four hemispheres 
the solar light and lunar light were 

o o 

seen moving in order, according to so- 
lar and lunar time, with all the changes 
and variations. The comets were seen 
to come and go, and they knew but 
little of them. Stars shoot from their 
places and appear to go out. Many 
such phenomena are related in history. 

Each ward had a library building to 
contain their part of the books, parch- 
ments and scrolls. Many of the books 
contained the history of astronomy, 
astrology, divinations, jugglery, the 
Chaldeans, and the victories and cap- 
tures of cities ; also theocracy, theol- 
ogy and traditions ; also many con- 
tained the rules and styles of architec- 
ture of all the known world. 

The high and haughty ignored the 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EYE. 49 

ideas of those who refused to acknowl- 
edge the myths and mythology of the 
age. 

The city became rich and built up 
on all sides. Its population, inside of 
the walls, was five hundred and fifty 
thousand. Outside of the city was a 
population, subject to the king, of four- 
teen hundred thousand — men, women 
and children. This great city was 
prosperous and flourishing, and second 
only to Rome. 

The climate of Alexandria is very 
mild, and although being in latitude 
thirty-two degrees north, there is sel- 
dom any rain or frost, The country 
was watered by hundreds of canals, 
taking water from the river Nile, near 
Upper Egypt. 

The cares of civil and religious gov- 
ernment were in the hands of the 



50 NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY 

priests and military officers. The king 
was the great dictator, and those who 
did not regard his opinion were in 
danger. The priests were very nu- 
merous. They held one-sixth of the 
la nd as property. They were not re- 
quired to perform religious services. 
They held the public records. It was 
their province to levy the taxes and 
appoint the collectors. They chose 
the judges and magistrates. On en- 
tering upon the office of judge or 
magistrate, each one was obliged to 
take an oath that even the commands 
of their sovereign should not sway 
them in the exercise of their duty. 
The tribunals were open and free to 
all ranks of people without expense of 
any kind. No professional pleadings 
were employed for pleading of causes. 
The judiciary were supported by the 
government. 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EYE. 5 1 

The penal laws were severe on ca- 
lumniators. Perjurers and the citizen 
so base as to disclose the secrets of 
the government to its enemies were 
punished by death. Emasculation was 
the penalty for him who violated the 
chastity of a free woman. The adul- 
terer was burned to death. But two- 
thirds of the whole population were 
slaves. A man was allowed but one 
wife, but as many concubines as he 
could take care of. A man was 
obliged to acknowledge as legitimate 
all the children born to him by his wife 
or concubines. 

Alexander was twenty years of age 
when he came to the throne of Mace- 
donia, at the death of his father. This 
young prince possessed ability, and 
gave proofs, from youth, that marked 
the conqueror of the Eastern World. 



52 NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY 

The youth was under the tutelage of 
the philosopher Aristotle. 

The young prince took great inter- 
est in astronomy, astrology, and the 
so-called science of philosophy. That 
made two-thirds of mankind slaves to 
one-third. The slaves were kept in 
ignorance as much as possible. 

If any one became obnoxious, he 
was requested to become the bearer of 
a message ; and on his arrival, he was 
put in custody with others. Next 
morning the order was given to put to 
death all the prisoners in cell No. 19. 
They were called, and, with only a 
blanket on them, they were conducted 
through a number of splendid apart- 
ments to a room about twelve feet 
square, furnished in splendor. They 
were ordered to be seated, the conduc- 
tor closed the door, and immediately 



AND THE LIGHT OF THE EVE. 53 

the room began to descend, like an 
elevator, down into water, and all were 
drowned. 

Alexander now became master of 
the Persian empire. He was so elated 
with success he gave way without re- 
straint to every species of debauchery 
and intemperance. 

But Alexander was roused to the 
situation when he saw it was impossi- 
ble to retain the territory he had over- 
run, as his troops, foreseeing no end to 
their labors, positively refused to pro- 
ceed. His pride was mortified, and 
he was obliged to return. After con- 
quering all the Eastern World, it is 
said that he wept. On his arrival at 
Lusa, he was received with the honors 
due to a sovereign of the empire. He 
married the daughter of Darius. The 
king was now well in power ; but he 



54 NEW IDEA OF ASTRONOMY. 

feared the bold Chaldeans prophecy, 
and, in spite of reason, it depressed 
his spirits to such a degree that he 
gave himself up to riot and debauch- 
ery. In this state he committed many 
cruel murders. The consequence was 
an inflammatory fever, which, after a 
few days, put an end to his life in the 
thirty-third year of his age. 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

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